Two Brothers
by MrRedstone
Summary: Two brothers stranded in a parallel universe, namely Avatar: The Last Airbender. Must edit later to something more descriptive.
1. Chapter 1: Quantum Physics for Dummies

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, k? Never have, never will. Except for my OC's. Those are mine. **

**A/N: So yea, ATLA fan fiction with OC. 2 OC's from the "real" world, nonetheless. And it's my first fanfic. Whew. Wonder how this is going to turn out. You'll have to see! Mainly this first chapter focuses on exposition, because it wouldn't make sense to drop them in the middle of a plot without explanation, now would it? As for reviews, mainly I want feedback on these OC's. Also in general, because, you know, first fanfic. Basically this chapter is about who they are and how they came to be in the ATLA universe. Now, enough talk, on with the story!**

**Chapter One: Quantum Physics for Dummies**

**(POV: CARSON)**

His brother was going to _kill_ him.

Well, not really, but he sure was pissed at him. Of course that was probably due to the fact that they were both falling through the air at terminal velocity, clinging to Alex's damn invention, the "quantum drill" something or other.

"You idiot!" Alex was screaming.

"What? Me?" Carson yelled back over the wind as they continued to fall.

"Yes! I told you not to touch _anything_. And what did you do?"

"It wasn't _my_ fault! Something threw me into it!"

"Never mind! Assume a diving form! It'll minimize the impact!"

"What?!" Then he looked around, realized his brother was one step ahead of him, as usual. They were falling towards a black ocean at speeds no skydiver would dare fly at.

"Ohhh…. SHIT!" The words were ripped from his mouth as he slammed into the water and blacked out.

**1 Hour Earlier...**

"What is it this time, Alex? Want me to be your lab rat for the cure to cancer?", Carson said into the phone as he was doing what most fifteen year old boys would be doing on a Sunday morning, playing video games in his underwear.

"Nah, but I just wanted to show you something that will blow your mind forever! Meet me at the abandoned assembly plant, like usual." Alex said excitedly as he hung up, leaving his brother none the wiser.

Well, he thought to himself, it's not like Alex is just going to leave me disappointed when he says something like _that_. Carson pulled on some decent clothes, and left the house to walk the short distance to Alex's "evil lair", as he liked to think of it.

Alex, of course, was no ordinary fifteen year old, and boy did he know it. Carson was convinced he was the real-life Jimmy Neutron. Except for the oversized skull, Alex had an IQ and mental abilities that gave most college professors a run for their money. Technically he was still a high school sophomore, but he had already taken every math and science known to mankind. Not that he wasn't proficient in his other classes, but he wasn't the savant he is when successfully challenging major scientists in their own field with things Carson couldn't begin to understand; whenever Alex would begin spouting terms like "quantum gravity" and "the derived parallax of nine dimensional apeirogons", Carson would pretty much tune him out during his long conversations at dinner which their mother pretended to comprehend. Not that he was full of himself, no way, Alex still managed to be one of most understanding and nice people he had ever known. Maybe that was just because he was his brother.

"So what have you got for me this time?" Carson asked as he entered the complex.

It was obvious, of course, as he noted the massive amount of arcane equations completely covering several blackboards, as usual, with a select few being circled repeatedly. And there was a large, round, unknown contraption hidden under a tarp like he wanted to hide it from a spy satellite. Carson just hoped it wasn't a remake of the giant static ball Alex had made for their school's science fair in the seventh grade. He won with it, of course, and the science teachers were thoroughly impressed, but everyone ended up with raised hair, which annoyed the girls Carson was trying to hit on.

"That boy is a freak," they said as they walked away to talk to everyone else about how their _oh so important_ hair had gotten messed up for the rest of the day. The flack being thrown at his brother had hurt Carson, and so it was also then that he had realized just how much of a genius loner Alex would become. He supposed he was his brother's only real friend, although he had tons of scientist friends, as he found out when he walked into Alex's room while he was in the middle of a Skype call / theoretical physics debate with Michio Kaku. He did not envy his brother, but was proud of him nonetheless. Although sometimes he _did_ come up with silly innovations. Like the cheese ray. He didn't need another one of those.

"You may not fully appreciate what I have accomplished, but I believe I have created the universe's first quantum tunneling device."

He let that sink in for precisely one second before saying,

"You're right, I can't appreciate it because I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

Carson burst into laughter while Alex's ears pinked.

"Of course you wouldn't. Imagine a Tardis, but without the "bigger on the inside" concept. It's a vehicle designed for travel through the fabric of reality, more or less."

Carson had seen his fair share of science fiction due to his brother, and caught on quickly. "Wait, you're serious?!"

Carson gestured to the spherical thing hidden under the tarp.

Alex walked over to the mound and yanked the cover off. Underneath was something so beautiful and complex it took Carson a second to register that this was a machine, a machine capable of feats any reasonable person would have thought impossible. It was a craft roughly eighteen feet in diameter, with gentle blades radiated from two poles along a central axis, running under a seat in front a large set of dials and gears. He didn't see the point to having the blades, but for all he knew it could be a way to battle quantum monsters or something. Behind the saddle sat a large quantity of glowing bits for which he was at a loss for. It looked like the time machine out of _The Time Machine_. He actually had just one question for Alex.

"Why does it look like this is something out of the nineteenth century?"

"The electromagnetic field generated by its flux would tear any electronics to shreds, therefore none are present. Besides, you don't need computers on the craft itself; it is just a pod, technically speaking. A ship that will be pushed though the fabric of reality."

"It sounds too good to be true."

"Really?" Alex gestured to the blackboard. "I basically just discovered and researched an _entirely new field of science so far known only to few, and toiled forever on this revolutionary device._ I'm sorry, but I think I'm entitled to some self-pride and joy."

"And you're gonna do it with me." Alex grinned.

"Wait, WHAT?" Carson was stupefied.

"You heard me. I'm ready to take the universe's first quantum vehicle for a test drive. I've quadruple-checked every possible detail. What could go wrong?"

_A lot, actually._ Carson thought.

But this was Alex. When he was sure of himself about something, he felt he could invest confidence in him. But this, this was something else. Something no human had ever tried before. And Alex wanted to do it with him.

"I guess you're right. So what do you want me to do then, now that I'm here?"

"Sit in the saddle, I suppose, while I power up the quantum foci. And don't touch _anything._" Carson sat in the seat, as three mirrors appeared that he hadn't seen before. They were spaced evenly apart in a circle, all facing the machine.

"These foci are just as important as the actual vehicle; without them, this would never work. Excuse me while I reroute the entire town's power here for 30 seconds." Alex smirked.

"Wait… how can you do that? Why do you need that?" Carson gaped.

"You think ripping holes in the fabric of reality is easy? Besides, stop acting so surprised. You should've learned by now to expect the unexpected from me."

It was true.

Alex typed for several seconds on his laptop he had set up nearby, and the discs began to glow with a bright light. Alex rushed onto the machine, sat in front of Carson, who was still in awe, and pulled one lever. The tripod legs supporting the quantum craft retracted, and he realized they were free floating.

Alex began murmuring to himself. "Activate quantum entanglement, confirm leg retraction, power up distribution field…"

The blades radiating from the axis didn't seem so useless, anymore. They spun and spun until they became a blur, indistinguishable. A light far outside the craft next to one of mirrors began flashing yellow.

"Here we go…" Alex said as the light turned green and the three lenses flashed.

Instantly, the world outside had vanished, leaving the craft suspended in an infinite void, now with a shining white sphere of light all around the whirring blades.

His brother began laughing in triumph. "YES! I knew it was possible. Haha!"

Carson sat up in awe, looking around. Suddenly something seemed wrong.

"Wait…" he said, but was stopped when the back axis exploded in a golden shower of light. Suddenly they found themselves free-falling above a black ocean, on a world not much different than their own, but with a reality that would be hard to accept.

**Go on, review! I'll love you forever! I'll be posting at random intervals, based mostly around my own motivation, I suppose. (Hint to review)**


	2. Chapter 2: Adrift In A Strange Sea

**Disclaimer: Still don't own ATLA. If you've been on FFN for any amount of time, you know that no one here owns any source material. Still own OC's, till the end of copyright (∞).**

**A/N: And here we go, after the first chapter, a second one appears over the horizon! I wasn't expecting to take this long to update, but then again I did say sporadic updates, so I have myself there. Also I would like to thank to those who bothered to review, because you are awesome! **

** jakefan- Yes.**

**EverleafOwl- Yes. And also I got a C in my sophomore English class, but am able to write this. Go figure.**

**Basically I plan to have this story loosely follow canon, as in, major events happen, but minor details are always subject to change by me, because AU's. Also this chapter is actually what I had planned out to be two, but I thought each weren't substantial enough on their own to meet my wants. Basically they are adrift in the ocean, and stuff happens. Also, I'm doing away with the (POV) thing. It seemed so pointless, now. Don't worry; we'll get to "The Boy in the Iceberg" in like, one or two chapters. Calm your ostrich-horses. Just sit back and enjoy fanfiction. Remember to review! I know you're there, lazy reader! **

**CHAPTER 02: Adrift In A Strange Sea**

_Of course something had to have gone wrong, otherwise his quantum-tunneling device would have worked and it would have been a happy ending. Slamming into a random patch of ocean at a hundred miles per hour just seemed a final insult._

As he landed, Alex's head slammed against the control panel and he was thrown from the vehicle into the freezing water. Half-dazed, he pushed his way back to the surface and latched onto the machine, gasping. Noticing his brother wasn't there, he looked under the water and saw movement, something sinking slowly through the water.

_Shit…_ Alex thought as he dove under the water, pushing against the undercarriage and speeding towards his unconscious brother. Grabbing him by the armpits, it seemed like forever before he broke back to the surface, pushing him onto the floating wreck and then hauling himself on, only to unceremoniously pass out several seconds later.

_He dreamt. Dreamt of a landscape of ethereal clouds, with the sun a glowing crimson, far in the distance, casting beautiful shades of orange and red all over the cloudy… floor. _

_"So, what are you doing here?" said an elderly voice from behind them. Alex turned to face an all too familiar old man in red clothing, white hair, impossibly wise, friendly, but menacing eyes staring at him, almost_ through_ him. A man Alex had not known outside of… television._

_"…Roku?" _

_The old man sighed. "You are not of this world. You forced your way through to it, with that _machine._ "It threated the safety of reality and balance in all worlds, across all realities. Do you realize that?" _

_"I… I… meant no disrespect! It was built for benevolent purposes, for exploration, for discovery!" Alex began tearing up. _

_Roku seemed to consider this. He mused for several seconds. "Well, since I intentionally attacked your machine, knowing its horrifying implications, I suppose I did not consider what would happen-"_

_"That was YOU? Why? You've stranding us on _your_ world, in possibly the most remote location, for what? Because you were scared of something that you knew little about had hostile intentions? You lashed out, for fear and nothing else. You deserve to be ashamed."_

_Alex was actually surprised by the words that had just escaped his lips. Maybe he was just mad about how the machine had exploded and his brother had almost _died,_ damnit. He was impressed because Roku seemed to be at a loss of words after that. _

_"Fate is a funny thing, boy. It can lead you down paths you didn't know existed, or open up doors you couldn't before reach. I suppose this is a special case. I will help you. It shall be as if you were part of this world from the very beginning. I do ask one thing of you, however."_

_"And what would that be, your spiritness?" _

_"I ask that if you successfully are able to rebuild your vehicle, that you are free to leave and never come back. I can make sure that the way you came in is the way you will leave as well. You, and your brother, also intrigue me, as nothing like this has happened in several thousand years. " _

_Alex froze. "So you wish me gone then, is that it? For the same reasons you exploded my ship." He scowled straight at Roku, not caring about his importance._

_Roku looked back. "I am sorry. This is simply abnormal. Strange. A wild card enters the game, I suppose you would say. Goodbye. May the spirits favor you."_

_Slowly Roku began to fade, and his whole dream turned white. _

Alex awoke suddenly, with a wicked pain pounding his head, next to his brother on the makeshift boat the device had become.

"Carson? Carson!"

Alex shot up and turned to face the brother lying next to him, fainted.

"Carson!" Alex slapped him clean across the face, sending him flying awake with wild eyes.

"…Oooowwwww!" he screamed as he held the right side of his face. "What was that for?"

Alex immediately embraced his brother with a massive hug.

Startled, Carson said "What? Did I almost die or something?" His eyes went wide.

Alex chuckled whilst in his brother's embrace. "Yeah, something like that, Haha."

"Okay, okay! I'm not dead… or dying! But your head looks like it may have a concussion, just saying." Carson looked worried as he gazed over at Alex's scalp.

"I'm sure its fine… by the way, you may think I have gone crazy, but I think I know where we are."

"Avatar: The Last Airbender universe." Carson grumbled.

"Yeah... wait how…" Alex faltered.

"I had the same dream as you. I just stood behind you while you did all the talking with Roku."

"Oh… well then, I know my concussion isn't causing my mental faculties to break down, yet." Alex laughed again, and then winced as he put his hands to his temples.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just… my head hurts."

"You don't say, genius."

"So, where do you think we are? And when? Who will we meet _if _we meet anyone out here?"

There went Alex, always being a futurist, concerned about what will happen, not what is happening.

"That doesn't seem like a big deal right now considering we're in the **MIDDLE OF THE DAMN OCEAN**!" Carson proclaimed.

"Well Roku _did_ say he would help us." Alex noted.

"He also said that fate is a funny thing, I'm not so sure about what will happen to fulfill that promise." Carson replied.

"Well I suppose that means that that we aren't going to die and that someone will find us before we die of hunger of thirst or boredom."

"Boredom? I know how we can fix that!"

"How?"

"By helping see exactly _how_ the machine exploded and fell out of inter-dimensional space." Alex said proudly.

Carson gaped. "I know almost nothing about how this machine works, much less the physics behind it."

"Just help me find what exploded."

After several minutes of analysis several things became apparent.

One was that they shouldn't be floating. Carson noticed this because the craft was a good deal metal without much of any sealed areas, yet it floated. Alex thought that it was due to the quantum distribution field, the "big glowy sphere of light" along which that actual fabric of reality was ripped, was still technically active in the three normal special dimensions and so that was how they floated.

Two, Alex found that the problem had come from fracture of the main axial rotor, and so it needed to be completely replaced. Whatever Roku had done to crash them had been swift and effective. Alex had to face a grim reality.

"I… I think we may be stuck here… forever."

"What?" His brother was horrified. This was his brother, Alex, the golden-eyed genius who brought many a science convention revelations or new perspectives on topics so complex that the media hadn't even really caught on to how much of a genius he was. His brother, who programmed a considerable fraction of IBM Watson and Windows 7, his brother, who invented a cheese ray, that even though it got cheese _everywhere_ was still amazing in its own right, his brother, who constructed a freaking dimension-jumping machine, couldn't fix a simple mechanical problem in his own machine.

_Bullshit._

Alex continued, "The methods involved with repairing the axis are up-to-date and impossible to replicate without a huge number of prerequisite technologies, none of which exist in the ATLA universe. It simply cannot be done."

Alex saw Carson pale. "I'm sorry."

"Can't we do _anything_? At all?" Carson pleaded.

"The only way I could foresee us ever being able to repair it is if we somehow got the entire scientific backing of the Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation, which I very highly doubt will ever, ever happen."

"Great. So what do we do now?"

"Wait. For something. Unless you want to swim in some random direction and have almost zero chance of living, there isn't much we can really do."

"You know, I never thought I would end up in the Avatar universe. Aren't you excited? Or something?"

"I think I'm mostly just depressed that my machine _exploded_." Alex pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.

"That wasn't your fault, remember. Roku sent us exploding and then we fell into the Avatar universe. I still can't believe we are actually here."

"It could be a shared hallucination! Right?"

Carson assumed a _really?_ face. "Do you honestly believe that?"

Alex smiled. "No, but we haven't really had any real evidence in support of it."

Carson laughed. "Shut up. Just wait. Something will happen."

Alex rolled his eyes. "We can only hope."

**Later…**

_There is saying, I forget what it is. It has something to do with a ship barreling down on you, and being oblivious. Well, that is pretty much happened to us. Haha._

Both boys had given up trying to do anything in particular and ended up falling asleep under the sun. Of course one cannot simply be a teen floating on an extremely unusual piece of machinery in the middle of the freaking ocean without attracting attention. A metal ship pulled up alongside them, the boys still asleep, a ladder was thrown over the rail and a man climbed down to investigate.

The man coughed. "Hello?"

Alex and Carson snapped awake and whipped around to find a man standing on the machine near them, while they were anchored to a massive metal ship.

"Um… hi!" Alex extended a hand to the man. "Mind telling us where and when we are, as well as who you are and what you are doing here?"

The man seemed taken aback by Alex's inquisitive greeting.

"You are in the middle of the Southern Ocean, next to the ship of the Fire Prince Zuko, the winter of the year 100 A.S.C. My name is Lieutenant Jee, and I am sorry about this."

"About wh.." Carson asked just before he was knocked out by a swift punch to the head.

"Wait! I can explai…" Alex was knocked out too.

"Oh boy, Zuko won't like this," Jee remarked.

**More Later…**

Zuko thought he had seen everything. He was wrong, of course, when Jee just _had_ to stop to pick up the strangest pieces of flotsam ever seen. Said junk included an indecipherable machine and two unconscious boys, seeming to be brothers about the same age a little younger than Zuko himself, maybe fifteen?

One boy was tall, lanky, with black hair, pale skin, and a hug welt on his skull that was slowly trickling blood. The other boy seemed strong, fit, and slightly shorter than his brother, with tan hair and moderately tanned skin like someone who fell consistently fell asleep under the hot sun. Both wore unrecognizable clothing, like nothing the world had ever seen before. All three objects were being carried across the deck when Zuko came out to ascertain why they had stopped.

"Jee! Have you lost your mind? What are you doing picking up…" Then Zuko realized something.

What _would_ two kids barely younger than he was doing on a device that certainly didn't seem remotely seaworthy, that flashed reflected light everywhere…

He decided this was, in fact, something worth investigating. He ordered Jee to put the device in the cargo hold until further notice, as well as to have the taller boy be escorted to the healer immediately for looks at that head wound, and his brother to be put in the brig.

Iroh had a few words to say on the matter as well. "This is a very strange matter… and I don't deny your suspicions, but I think that more may be at play than you realize, my nephew. Consider your decisions on this matter very carefully."

Jee had sent some things had found in a locked compartment in the device up to his room on request. They included food packages Zuko interpreted to be rations, a cylinder of clear solid material filled with water, a wrench, a small square with many, many buttons on it that Zuko couldn't even begin to decipher, and the greatest treasure, or at least Zuko assumed it was, a book. It was a book of at least a thousand pages, written in a script that he could never begin to make a head or a tail of. Glancing through it, there were many diagrams for mechanisms and natural phenomena. One thing caught his attention, however. He stared hard at the word under it, guessing that it was a label of some kind. He attempted to form the characters with a brush, although simple, they were still foreign, and required concentration. Afterward, he compared the two words and decided in was good enough. Zuko's paper read _F-i-r-e_.

**Post-Fainting... **

Carson awoke with a wicked headache. What happened? The last thing he remembered was… Alex's overcomplicated hello, …and Jee knocking him out.

But… What did Jee say?

_…ship of the Fire Prince Zuko…_

_…winter year 100 A.S.C…_

Zuko… Carson wasn't sure whether that was good or bad for him, since he had no idea when he was in the series. Wait… yes he did. 100 ASC? Hmmm… But winter… That could be at any point in Season One, if he was right. Therefore Zuko was still the Angry Jerk. Great.

Only then did Carson realize he was in a prison cell.

_Congratulations Carson, you've won yourself an all-expenses paid trip to jail for falling through from another dimension!_

And he realized that Alex wasn't there with him.

_Shit… did that mean…_

Carson's train of thought was interrupted when Zuko himself entered the cell, closing the door behind him.

Zuko looked just like he did through Season One, topknot, baldness, scar, and all.

Carson should have been angry, or scared, or worried, or something. Instead, he was stunned by the fact that this was _actually_ real, that this was really happening to him. So he did something he rarely did, he cried.

Zuko didn't seem to expect this at all. His mask of indifference melted into one of worry. "Hey, hey, HEY!" Zuko yelled at him. Carson looked up at him, his eyes red.

"There you go. I know your probably scared shitless of me, but don't be. Your friend is going to be fine, by the way."

"Where… is he?" Carson asked shakily.

"With the healer. You woke up first, so I came to you first." Zuko assumed a neutral expression again.

"Okay… so what do you want? Why did you lock me up in here?" Carson snarled.

Zuko paused and then spoke. "I have no idea who you are, ad judging by that contraption you were on, you are probably more capable than you seem, which is why I am taking precautions against you, namely keeping you here for the time being." Zuko's response seemed half-hearted.

Carson's eyes narrowed. "And what do you really… want?"

Zuko sighed, and then laughed. "You could start by telling me how you came to be in the middle of an open ocean on that _thing_.

Carson replied, "You should let Alex explain that, he's the who built the damn thing. I barely understand it."

Zuko continued, "Alex is the name of the one with you, the one who I may assume is your brother?"

Carson blinked, realized he wasn't supposed to be giving away all this info to a fictional character that Alex knew infinitely better than he, considering he was the one ho introduced him to the awesome show in the first place, long ago.

Carson gave up. "Yea, he's my brother."

So can _you_ tell me what this is? Zuko flashed a textbook at him. One of Alex's books.

_College Level Physics: Introductory Through Mastery_ it read.

"Where did you get that from?" Carson asked in apprehension.

"Can you tell me what this is?" Zuko repeated.

"It is something that I really dont understand very well, one of Alex's books. I don't know much about it." Carson admitted.

It was true; he had yet to take high school physics, much less in college.

"Can you simply tell me what this word means in your script?" Zuko asked as he moved over to the wall, where he wrote "Equation" in the dust along the wall.

"Equation. Something that says that one thing is equivalent to another. It's something that comes out of mathematics."

"Mathematics, okay, not very interesting. Thank for telling me, I suppose." Zuko turned to leave.

"Oh, and it was nice to meet you, Zuko. I mean, you being the Fire Prince and all." Carson smiled.

"And what would your name be, then?" He turned his gaze back towards him, but only for a second.

Carson hesitated, but then saw no reason why he shouldn't tell him.

"Carson."

**And… post head bashing.**

Zuko supposed the other boy looked better; the doctor insisted that the pale boy, Alex, had held up surprisingly well. He would've though the boy would catch some kind of illness, but remained unconscious mainly because of the combination of his head injury and Jee hitting him _in the head again._

It was strange. Zuko tried to guess where they might be from, the best he could do was that Alex had Fire Nation blood and Carson was from the Earth Kingdom, but there was just something a little… off.

_Well maybe its because they are in the middle of the ocean on the way to the South Pole, suddenly finding two teens without any probable means of getting there. Or the strange clothes._

Carson had refused to change into fresh clothing, but the healer had already gone ahead and replaced Alex's clothing with gray pants and a red and gold tunic. He could pass for any man on his ship, except for the giant welt on his forehead as well as his age. No one on Zuko's ship was younger than Zuko himself, but he conducted himself to be much older than he appeared.

Since he had nothing better to do to occupy his time, he sat in the medical bay watching the healer tend to him while attempting to decipher the mysterious book. Even though Carson seemed to think that the book was something that didn't matter very much, for one, Alex seemed to be the smart one of the pair, and for two, just by looking through the book, it betrayed the massive amount it carried with its seemingly endless script, going on tighter and smaller than anything he seen. It became obvious after a while that staring at graphs, diagrams, etc. alone would allow him to understand it.

Sighing, he placed the book down next to the boy and left.

"Should I notify you when the boy awakens, Prince Zuko?" the healer asked.

"No, wait until you think he has recovered enough that he can move around unaided, _then_ notify me."

Zuko left.

He returned an hour later to discover the boy standing upright, although without the greatest of ease, clutching his head and drinking some concoction the healer had made.

"Hello, Alex."

The boy froze, but then tried to ignore him by refusing to answer.

"Well? Answer me!" Zuko bellowed.

"…Hello. Why am I here?" He said it like he didn't know whom he was talking to.

"You are on my ship because," Zuko began.

"No, why_ here_? Why the medical bay? Why not with my brother with whom you've obviously already spoken."

Zuko faltered. This boy was definitely smarter than he looked. He would have to be careful in how he talked with him.

"That head injury is worse than you probably thought it was." Zuko explained. "Without help, you probably would've gotten brain damage or something of the like."

"Hmmm…" Alex mused. "And how did you find this?" Alex showed him the book.

"It was in that device, and," Zuko began.

"It was in a sealed compartment, which you obviously broke into. Now, what has Carson told you, other than my name?"

Zuko suspected that he was trying to make up a fake story for himself and his brother; asking for details so that it would be consistent between them.

"He said that that book contains many weapons schematics, and that you've always kept it out of it. He said that what you were doing was seriously illegal and treasonous, and he begged me for mercy. I suggest you do the same."

It was a total lie, which of course went right over Alex's head.

"Close, but yet so far, Prince." Alex turned. What I think you've done is take what you_ think_ you know, and what Carson may or may not have said, fill in the gaps, and try to feed it to me expecting to hear all my secrets.

_Well… shit. This kid can't be forced into anything. If I'm ever going to get anything out of him, I'll need to stop treating him like a prisoner._

"How about I take you up on deck for some fresh air to clear your head? Won't that be nice?" Zuko hoped Alex wasn't totally inconvincible.

"Sure… if you let my brother come out from wherever you're keeping him."

Zuko hesitated for a second before saying; "Sure, I'll take you to him."

When he opened the door to Carson's cell down in the brig, suddenly it was only those two boys in the whole universe, and they embraced.

_Well, they are certainly brothers…_ Zuko thought to himself.

Up on deck, Carson started the ball rolling with a comment about Alex's Fire Nation clothing.

"Wow, you already seem less like the brother I know, and more like a Fire Nation soldier."

"Haha. I'm sure they were just being nice. Or sanitary. Or it was done for some ungodly reason we can't even begin to imagine." Alex rolled his eyes.

"How about we go with 'nice'." Zuko said as he came up behind them.

"Oh, hey there Zuko," Carson said.

"How about we go inside the meeting room and… talk. I'm sure that we have a lot to ask one another."

"Sure," Alex replied, "Just as soon as I ah.. ah.. CHOO!" He sneezed and shot fire from his nose.

Everyone looked stunned, especially Alex, who lay on the ground, looking up at Zuko as his eyes shone with knowledge and fear.

"A lot to talk about." Zuko restated.

**A/N: Wow. Just** **wow. Review! Do it naow! **

**Too much for that cliffhanger? Maybe?**

**IN THE NEXT EPISODE... **


	3. Chapter 3: That's Debatable

**Disclaimer: *Annoying note telling you that yes, in fact, I am NEITHER Mike nor Bryan***

**Video of Time Machine inspirations:**

** watch?v=UBuLoRzhWeI **

**A/N: Third installment, away! Plaidspeed has caught my attention, and so I have this to say. **

**To point 1) While you are technically correct when you said that Zuko shouldn't be letting the boys off this easy, he knows he won't get anything out of them by just letting them rot in a cell for all time, Zuko suspects they know far more than they let on, which they do of course, but Zuko really has no idea what he is dealing with, but two boys in the middle of the ocean with some strange artifacts with them. And he isn't really letting them go, they are still fully under his control. Also this is (just) before he finds the Avatar, which in my honest opinion "recatalyzes" his determination etc.**

**To point 2) Really? I thought I was doing fine on that front. **

**Maybe I'm missing something big. I don't think so.**

**As always remember to do that review thing that helps me so much! ;p**

**Time to ****_whoosh_**** over to le fanfic! (Scroll down, have a nice day) **

**Chapter 03: That's Debatable**

Zuko had originally intended to have the meeting (or, formal interrogation, as it were) right then and there. But there may have been too much overwhelming thoughts going through his head right then and there, and he ordered the boys be put back in the brig.

Zuko stormed off to Uncle's room. _He_ always had something to say about the situation at hand.

He found him sitting on the floor, playing Pai Sho against one of the crew members.

"You. OUT." The man quickly left, closing the door behind him.

"What is wrong, Prince Zuko?" Uncle Iroh asked Zuko entered his room.

"I don't know. Everything! This whole situation… confuses me. The Fire Nation boy has turned out to be a firebender, for better or worse, I cannot say for sure."

Uncle thought the news over for a few seconds before coming to a conclusion.

"In confusing times, sometimes it is helpful to step back, take a look at the whole picture, and begin asking small questions. Only then may you be able answer the big ones."

"What does that mean!? I know little to nothing about who they really are, much less anything else."

"What do you know?" Uncle answered simply.

Zuko sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"They are two boys, appearing to be brothers about the age of fifteen."

"One of them is of apparent Fire Nation descent, and is a firebender."

"The other is of unknown, possibly Earth Kingdom heritage."

"Both boys were found earlier today by Lieutenant Jee while en route to the Southern Water Tribe, and with them came a large unknown mechanism.

"This… mechanism is of unknown origin, craft, intention, and purpose. It matches nothing of what we know. Within it was found a volume of foreign, undecipherable text."

"And why do you keep them here, heal the firebender, and allow them out temporarily, as if a gesture of good will?" Iroh asked.

"Because I believe there is much in them yet to be uncovered by me, much that could be utilized in ways we can or cannot think of. It is mainly that device. That is the key to everything: who they _really _are, where they came from, how they know the things they know, and what their purpose here is. And the only way I can figure it out is by interrogating them. The shorter one, Carson, has already admitted minimal information; suggesting Alex is of much greater value. Alex has admitted nothing, although his head injury may have done something to him."

"And why do you put so much effort into this?" Iroh continued.

"Because. Because. BECAUSE!" Zuko flared.

Iroh took a sip from his tea.

"Because I have on an impossible quest, for almost three, long, years, to search for a person who may be impossible to find. If this can _in any way_ help me achieve that goal, in will invest as much of my effort _as I wish._"

"I see." Iroh set down his cup. "And so what do intend to do _now_?"

"Interrogate them. About everything. Force them to tell me everything they know."

_Give it more time, Iroh thought. But Zuko had always been the impatient type, never wanting to draw out things._

"Goodbye Uncle. Thank you for your advice."

"You are most welcome, Prince Zuko."

After he left, Iroh sighed. He suspected his would not go well.

They were both sent back to the cell Carson was shoved in before.

Carson seemed a bit exasperated after what had happened up on deck, after, you know, he had shot _fire_ from his freaking nose.

"You're a firebender? What… how… uh…" Carson was clearly freaking out, pacing back and forth, and throwing his arms up in the air while Alex leaned on the wall.

"I don't know! How was I supposed to know that? We've been here less than a day, Carson. I can't master a bending art in an afternoon."

"Who said anything about mastering. You simply having the ability to control fire freaks the shit outta me."

"Why?" Alex replied. "I mean, its normal here, so…"

"Still doesn't explain it."

"I mean, I don't know, maybe some bending knowledge and/or ability rubbed off or something during my dream with Roku."

He just realized that what he just said was probably the most absurd thing he'd heard in recent memory. But he believed it. Why? He just did. He just did.

"Are you serious? What about me? Am I not important enough for something? Or am I too good for Mr. Fire Avatar? Hm?"

"I don't know. I have no way of telling. Unless Roku decides to dream message me again…"

"Don't worry about it." Carson smirked. "Well, doesn't it seem strange that Avatar literally convince you to prepare to come here?"

He knew what Carson was going on about. Back when he they were nine, watching Avatar had inspired Alex into taking martial arts classes, eventually ending up getting recommended to a shaolin kung fu class where he spent off and on for the next four years mastering it. Carson would tag along sometimes and he would show him some moves that were in fact much more harmful than they looked at first. Once he had asked how this would help in a real fight, in the real world. Alex had answered by promptly flipping him, then bursting out laughing. Carson had reasoned that those classes made him more independent than he would have otherwise been, but conversely made him more distant from others. He knew this was true, but didn't really care, since most of his friends were from the Internet, or adults. Yet somehow he retained a moderate level or sociability.

"Well it makes a good base, but I don't have any experience with Firebending in and of itself." Alex sat down and lay on his back on the cell floor.

Carson sat down next to him. "Don't worry man, I'm sure you'll be fine. I just don't want you to feel like the one carrying us both this whole way. Even though you will be the one who will solely be able to repair the Big Glowy Orb of Spinning Metal and Wormhole-ness."

Alex closed his eyes. "First of all, it's a quantum unified electroweak dimension splicing transport lens. Second of all, that is a lot of adjectives I just used." Alex chuckled.

"Q-u-e-d-s-t-l. A… quedstal?" Carson seemed like he could barely contain his laughter.

Alex opened his eyes and sat up. "No way. No way. No…" Alex burst out laughing.

"See? You like it. That is now what it will now and forever called. A quedstal." Carson grinned.

"Well," Alex assumed a serious face. "The quedstal is broken and unable to be repaired, in case you didn't catch that earlier."

"Come on, man. I don't believe that. I'm pretty sure you don't believe that either. You've done more amazing things with less resources." Carson kept a calm face.

"Then you do not understand. The control axis has _fused and fractured._" Do you understand what I'm getting at?" Alex tried to let the truth out slowly, but he couldn't hold it any longer. "The technologies required to completely reproduce to optical circuitry are… centuries away, it cannot be done, it is IMPOSSIBLE, DAMNIT!" He started yelling at the top of his lungs. "WE WILL NEVER GO HOME! WE… ARE… STUCK… HERE." He yelled with finality. Fire shot from his fists at the wall behind him. He didn't care to notice. Instead he lied back down and began crying softly.

Carson knew realized with a growing dread that has brother wasn't kidding. This wasn't some monumental task, which, given enough time, his brother would prevail, nor was it something that had only a slim chance of achieving. This was something that was _utterly impossible._ Only then did he begin to take his situation in a cell on a ship near the South Pole captained by an angry Fire Nation prince. He slumped back onto the floor, overwhelmed.

Zuko held the questioning, ah, _meeting_, the next morning in his war room.

They sat around an unremarkable rectangular metal table. Alex sat directly opposite Zuko at the other end of the table, staring at him the whole time with piercing eyes that were tinged with red like he'd been crying. He hadn't noticed it before, but the eyes were gold, like his own. Carson sat to Alex's right, staring at the table. On his right his Iroh, who was calmly drinking tea. On his left was Jee, who was observing the boys with curiosity. Alex was still in the clothes the healer had put him in, with a small patch on his head for the injury, while his brother had been forced to change into basic Fire Navy attire shortly before coming here. He certainly didn't seem happy about it.

An awkward silence continued until Uncle said, "Now, would anyone like some tea?"

"Now is not the time, Uncle!"

"I only wanted to make our guests feel comfortable." Iroh said.

"No. This is my ship, they are not to feel any kindness." Zuko turned towards Alex.

"Let's start off easy. Who are you, and where are you from?"

Alex immediately replied. "I am called Alex, my brother Carson, that is no lie, although I cannot tell you where our home is because, we don't have one. Not anymore."

"And what about that machine? What is its purpose? Does it have anything to do with this book?" Zuko pulled out the physics book and slammed it on the table.

"That machine… was… my single greatest achievement. It failed. That book is a reference volume, pertaining to the machines premise and construction, but not operation. Only I know that." Alex continued looking him straight in the eye.

"And how did you end up out here? Tell me how!" Zuko's nostrils flared.

In response, Alex's eyes closed. "The machine failed; we ended up here."

Zuko's mind raced. Although the information all fit together, there were still too much wiggle room and unknowns.

"You!" He pointed at Carson, who seemed to snap awake in response to his voice, "Tell me more about how you got here."

Zuko saw him pale, his eyes darted around. It occurred to him that he might have expected his brother to do most of the talking here, not expecting to respond much, but that didn't seem right. Unless Alex was the driver behind a guise that Zuko had begun to accept existed. Which is why Carson was now the one giving the critical information.

"Ah… It started yesterday morning when Alex told me that he had finally completed his machine-"

"Which was intended for what?" Zuko stood up and interrupted.

"Its-" Alex began.

"Not you! Him." Zuko pointed at Carson.

"It was supposed to be a… transport device, of revolutionary design, but he never told me any specifics. He said it was too complex for me to understand."

"Continue." Zuko sat back down.

"So we attempted to use it, and it failed. We somehow ended up out here. For what reason, I haven't the slightest idea."

Zuko suspected the boy told the truth, but there was something still there that he was missing. It did explain a lot though.

"What was the first thing you remember after the device crashed?" Zuko asked.

"He –Carson pointed at Jee- was standing on the quedstal with us, and then promptly knocked us out. After that I woke up in your _lovely_ brig, and suppose Alex woke up with those healer."

"The quedstal…" Zuko began.

Carson seemed to realize the mistake he had made. "We call the device a quedstal, I don't know why."

"It is… a strange word." Iroh said out of nowhere. "I have never heard of anything like it, nor do I anticipate ever understanding it. What I ask is… what do you plan to do now. Both of you."

The question surprised everyone, including Zuko.

"We don't seem to have any choice considering we are prisoners aboard your ship, Prince Zuko." Alex spat.

Zuko said, "After hearing your story, considering you don't seem to present any threat aboard-"

"They could join the crew!" Iroh interrupted.

"WHAT?" Zuko, Jee, and Carson yelled at the same time. Alex seemed amused.

"But they have no qualifications! And they so young…" Jee began.

"Fifteen. We are fifteen. But anyhow, good point. I would like to know what we mean to you. Why you would want us here."

Zuko did a facepalm. "I was going to say we drop them off in the Earth Kingdom after we search the South Pole." He still had his suspicions about them, and now Uncle was suggesting they _join_ them?

Jee started. "While they are _slightly_ underage, I honestly don't see much problem in having extra hands aboard. My qualm is that I do not expect them to be able to transition from their lives so directly into the life of a Fire Nation soldier."

Iroh said, "I agree with Jee, although I see much more potential within them than you may realize. Also I think it would do Prince Zuko good to have people his own age around him."

"What?!" Zuko stood up. "I do NOT need bunkmates." He turned to leave.

"Zuko!" He turned to face the boy who had continued to stare him in the eyes all the while he knew he was going a stretch to drop the title from his name.

"Who are we?" It was such a personal question that Zuko faltered, then replied.

"What do mean?"

"I mean, we never knew our parents. Never knew who we really are. Where we are from, why I am a firebender. What does that mean to you?" Carson added, "Please, if anyone knows anything, maybe you do, too."

Zuko was taken aback by the question, it asked so much of him, and Alex had put all this trust into him because it had nowhere else to go. He sat back down.

"One of your parents, likely your father, was probably a Fire Nation soldier, a firebender, your mother an Earth Kingdom peasant most likely. You two were cast away. I can't prove anything, of course. Just telling you what I would believe. It may be the truth." Zuko sighed. "I am going to meditate in my room. Uncle, make sure they don't cause problems." Zuko got up and left.

Carson didn't know what to think. Alex and Iroh were in an intense game of Pai Sho, and Carson had no idea what was happening. The game was as cryptic to him as Alex jabber on about anything he had been researching, etc.

Iroh placed a white dragon tile on the board, seemingly at random.

A few seconds later, Alex threw his arms in the air. "Alright, old man, you win." Alex held out his hand.

Iroh shook it. "My pleasure, Alex, for that was one of the most interesting first games of Pai Sho I must say I have ever played. You did excellently."

"What about me?" Carson gestured at himself.

"You did a great job as the commentator whom had no idea what was going on."

To this, Iroh laughed and Carson reddened.

"It's really complex-looking, alright!"

Carson thought about Zuko's questioning. He had definitely panicked when he had been forced to answer questions by himself. He had been not too broad but vague enough so that Alex could seal cracks in their story really easily. It wasn't completely true, nor false. Carson had come up with it, but Alex was good at fast-talking, not he.

"So, have you thought about my offer?" Iroh asked.

"Yes," they both said at the same time.

"What do you believe you could be?" Iroh replied.

"Alex can do nearly anything, I would probably be a general-purpose guard/soldier."

Alex blushed. "I think_ anything_ is kind of stretching it."

"No, I'm serious. He could be the helmsman, or head engineer, and soldier and perform outstanding in all of them." Carson continued.

"You overestimate me." Alex closed his eyes.

"Does he?" Iroh replied, causing Alex's eyes to snap open and stare at him.

"I would like to observe your abilities in Firebending…" Iroh began.

Zuko was grumpy. Normally he would get up at sunrise and train with Iroh in Firebending for several hours, but that was pushed back due to Zuko wanted to question the brothers since they came onboard his ship. After meditation, Zuko felt like he was ready to begin his normal day, _for real this time_.

Well imagine his own surprise when he came up on deck looking for Uncle, only to find him instructing the Alex on basic forms, the very same that he had been practicing for several months now.

Uncle didn't notice him coming. Alex did however, and stopped after finishing one _kata_ and froze, staring past Uncle at himself.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Zuko stormed onto the scene. Iroh seemed surprised to see his nephew so angry, for little reason. "I was instructing him on basic skills, techniques, and forms. He seems to comprehend it all really well."

"WHY were you teaching him?" Zuko seemed like he was going to explode.

"Why not? What I see here is just what I see in you, a budding firebender. You encourage that growth, not stunt it." Uncle replied.

"You seem to be encouraging him a lot more than you do for me." Zuko said accusingly.

"That's probably because I have never had a Firebending teacher before. Ever. Blame him for trying to have a positive first experience." Alex interjected.

"Uncle, this is my time for Firebending instruction. Send him to his room or something!" Zuko demanded.

"Yes, it is your time, now, and I am happy for that, but there is no reason why Alex cannot stay." Iroh said simply.

"No, there is. Prince Zuko simply wants to have his instruction separate because he wishes for your focus to be directly oh him for the time being." Alex left.

"What are you doing?" Iroh asked. "You are ignoring all of the boys attempts at your approval of him. He's trying to get himself noticed a good way. And you squander that!"

"So? I don't care."

"Fine, then let us begin." Iroh affirmed.

He didn't know where he was going. He was pissed.

Eventually he ended up in the hold, the door fused behind him with Firebending. He had knocked out a guard on the way here, who had probably alerted everyone to his being in there, alone. He sat in the chair of his beloved machine that he had worked hard on for the past four months, cashing in favors from physicists to get experimental pieces of hardware, things that could not be redone. Not much was actually damaged, only the rear axial photonic transmitter, taking power from the central core generator as well as the triple quantum lensing he had set up back at his base of operations, in another universe…

_Focus._

Right, then that energy was transmitted along these coaxial lines where the energy flowed radially, along the distribution arms to create the all-important "quantum de-entanglement field, a phenomenon unique to the machine, which allowed you, given correct control, to essentially pick up everything within the field and drop it somewhere else, to conceptually any other time or place, including, possibly, other universes.

_Well, of course other universes, Alex. You're here._

Well. It was all a waste, now. Himself and is brother were stuck here. Of course Carson still refused to believe that until Alex forcefully yelled into his face that they were, in fact, stuck here forever.

Alex tried to think optimistically. What he did really need to get the machine working. From there Avatar Roku seemed likely to help them, or push them, back home. What was missing?

That damn photonic transmitter.

Likely made in a Swiss lab not too long ago, it was designed mainly for high-efficiency electrical transmission, creating, almost, a superconducting cable, able to transmit with almost zero resistance. This was important, because of how the machine operated, any linear decrease would result in exponentially less power. Likewise, a near-perfect transmission of power would allow for the greatest charge flow, and since was dealing with power in the tens of billions of watts, it meant a lot.

It was made using methods similar to transistor etching, technology likely centuries ahead from the level of technological development of this universe. Hell, even lasers, even electrical transmission, was still far off. No way to repair or build another one.

He sighed.

A loud banging on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey! You in there! Come out!" It was one Zuko's unnamed soldiers.

Several seconds passed while someone attempted to open the door, but failed. Then Carson's voice joined in.

"Um, Alex? You in there? Zuko's going to be pissed, but I'm sure you already know that. You should probably come out now."

Alex got up and walked over to the door. "And why should I do that?"

"Because _I_ say so." Zuko's voice sounded through the fused metal.

"What if I just stay in here?" Alex rebuffed.

"Then I'll come in." Pounding echoed on the door, and after a few seconds, the door was ripped off its hinges and flew into the room. Alex backed away.

Zuko entered the room, followed by Carson, Jee, and a guard.

"You should have listened to him…" Carson whispered loudly.

"What are you doing in here? Why did you knock out a guard?" Zuko bellowed.

"Maybe because _I _wanted to. Maybe because _I _felt like it. You know, I don't really know. Maybe its because I feel like I am a failure. And that is proof." He pointed at the machine.

"You know, I still don't believe your story. Show me it working, then I'll believe in you." Zuko challenged.

"I told you, it doesn't work. But like someone I know always says, things always work until they don't." He glanced at Carson.

"Can't you show them just it powering up, or whatever? You said the fault had something to do with the field generation, or whatever." Carson had a, _just do it, what do we have to lose?_ Look on his face.

"Fine." He sat in the chair and fiddled with levers for a few seconds, before reaching out pulling the main startup lever.

All the other people took a step back as the radial blades began to spin. They spun faster and faster. Jee took a nervous step backwards.

Alex knew the fault would occur right about…

The forward axial photonic transmitter lit and everyone except Alex jumped.

Now…

The rear axial photonic transmitter lit, then sparked and immediately went out in a shower of sparks. Both sets of radial arms continued to spin at their target velocity, but nothing happened.

Alex pulled the lever back to its starting position as the machine slowed back to a standstill.

"There. Happy?"

Zuko and his men just stood there, dumbfounded. He seemed to realize this, and assumed a neutral face. "Um, yeah. How about you two come up on deck, with me. _Alone._" He looked at Jee and the guard, who just stood there.

Up on deck, Zuko paced around. "I do believe your story, but I suspect you may be not telling me everything. All men have secrets. Including me."

Carson seemed confused. "So…" he began.

"So I will let you stay here and be a part of my crew." Zuko's expression hardened. "But there is one thing you should know first. One thing. The mission of this ship, my mission, is of utmost priority. Prevailing comes before everything and anything else. This mission is to capture… the Avatar." Zuko stared at them, expecting a response.

"Sounds impossible." Alex retorted.

Zuko frowned. "I know it is, but I must do it." But now that you two are here, the monotony that has enveloped me over the past two years has broken. I suppose I should thank you for that. Something unusual happened." Zuko almost smiled, but didn't. "Maybe my luck will change, Uncle did say the spirits or something may have been involved. But it is only a hope, I do not believe the spirits would help me."

Carson's eyes widened. "Um… uh…" He waved his arms about. "Look!" he yelped.

Zuko and Alex turned. Off the port bow in the distance a pillar of white light shot into the sky, never ending, pure.

Zuko's good eye widened. "Helmsman!" he yelled. "Set a course for the light!"

**A/N: Whew. Longest chapter yet! 4200 words. **

**Actually kind of embarrassing considering what I've been doing the last couple of days.**

**June 25) Read reviews + , trying to flush out characters/development/general plotline/continuity/other. **

**June 26) Write 2600 words. **

**June 27) Write 1600 words. Revise. **

**June 28) Revise and publish. **

**Yeah. Next time we enter canon for the first time, and basically I plan to do one canon episode = one chapter. Is that fine? Hopefully it is. I wuv you all!**

**REVIEW NOW! I KNOW YOU WANTS TO! :3**


	4. Chapter 4: Space Laser of DOOM!

**Authorianismatraxic Notes: **

**Okay, okay. I kind of have some explaining to do. My computer died. But I was able to fix it, so I only lost a day. Trouble is, I lost another day to creative overflow. Literally. I have fifteen pages of bullet points specifically laying out the entirety of the series. Well. Hopefully that's good (?) Yes, I plan to cover the whole canon series. AND THEN I HAD TO SORT 11534 damn files in a file cabinet, because I had to. (Don't ask). So I lost a day to that as well, (;_;) so 3 lost days. Sorry.**

**Second, I want to talk about updating. Currently I am updating twice a week. That is what I am currently considering my lowest bar. What I would like is something like every other day. Whether that will happen, I don't know. What do you think about the current chapter length (~4000 words). **

**Third, your reviews! Main guy this time around is ShadowRock21. Your review is very comprehensive and constructive. (Happy faces.) **

**I would like to point out one thing, which might be a misunderstanding. Avatar Roku is representative of a guardian spirit of the world, kind of like an Avatar. It's kind of hard to explain, but there will be a chapter that revolves around this. Without spoiling it, it involves Roku, Alex, a lion turtle, and paradoxes. Yeah. Wait a while for that. We'll eventually get there.**

**Iroh will remain funny. **

**Wow that is a lot of A/N. ONTO THE STORY! *Over-dramatically presses the Enter key***

**Chapter 04- Space Laser of DOOM!**

**[Parallel to 101/102- Boy in the Iceberg/The Avatar Returns]**

"Do you realize what this means?" Zuko asked, keeping his face on the light as it dissipated.

Carson almost cut in, but Alex elbowed him in the ribs to keep him quiet.

"It means…" Zuko continued, "that my search is about to come to an end."

Zuko turned to address the boys. "Well, what do you two think? That light came from an incredibly powerful source. It has to be him!"

Carson began "Well," but was cut off _again_ by Alex.

"Of course!" Alex interrupted. "Logistically speaking, nothing else in the world has the kind of power needed to create that kind of a beam. Only the Avatar."

Then, turned his brother and himself away from Zuko, he whispered, "You an I both know that I know about this universe. Please don't ruin the semi-stable relationship we've put ourselves in with a pivotal person that could _literally_ decide our fate at any moment. Okay?"

He probably scared his brother a little more than he meant to. "Yeah," he nodded. "Got it."

Iroh came out of a door. "Prince Zuko, what is all the commotion about?"

Zuko replied, "We saw a light, it had to have come from _him_!

Iroh frowned. "Or it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don't want you to get too excited over nothing. Now why don't you come inside and enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?"

Zuko flared. "I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar."

**Later…**

"Y'know, I've never seen anyone get so excited over a giant glowing pillar of light before. Well, not _that_ excited."

"My nephew is a very determined man. He has pursued the Avatar for nearly three years now, scouring every single possible hideout, following every rumor or legend. He will not stop when he is this close."

They sat on the bridge. Iroh was attempting to teach Carson how to play Pai Sho, while Alex was simultaneously trying to watch Zuko and sneak peeks at maps, charts, dates, etc. without the helmsman noticing.

"He's never gonna come off that spotting deck until he sees something, isn't he?" Alex said. "Its nighttime."

"Really? The sun is still out." Carson began.

"No, you see, is winter now, and we're in extreme south latitudes, so," Alex explained.

"Right, midnight sun. I'm gonna go to bed now. Thanks for the explanation of Pai Sho, Iroh." Carson turned and left.

"Shouldn't he get some sleep, too?" Alex jabbed a thumb at Zuko, who you would think would become a statue out there.

"Hmmm." Iroh stood up. They both walked out to where Zuko still was, gazing out along the horizon. Iroh, being Zuko's uncle, began the interaction. "I'm going to bed now." Iroh yawned. "Yep. A man needs his rest. Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed. What makes you think you can?

Zuko's eyes remained fixed. "Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over."

Iroh sighed. "Fine then. Good night, Prince Zuko."

"Good night, Uncle." Zuko said it without even turning.

As he left, Iroh sent a _Now You Try_ face Alex's way.

"Hey, man, I know that capturing the Avatar is the most important thing to you right now, but you're not going to find him tonight. It just won't happen. Get some sleep."

"No." Zuko continued to stare at the horizon line.

Back in the small room Zuko had provided the both of them to stay in, Carson sighed. "So how'd it go with Prince So-Serious?"

Alex facepalmed and lay down. "Just as you'd except, he doesn't take much advice."

"Ah. Well, good night then."

"Good night, Carson."

Carson turned to his brother, raising his arms and whispering, "POWER!"

Alex, of course, couldn't help but snicker, given the situation.

They were both sitting on deck behind Iroh, watching Zuko practice fight with two of his own guards.

Zuko was in the middle of battling, when seemingly at random, Iroh sighed and got up. "No! Power in Firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire." Iroh shot a small plume of fire in the air. "Get it right this time."  
Zuko didn't seem to take that very well. "Enough. I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready." "No, you are impatient," Iroh replied. "You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again!"  
Zuko growled and blasted one of the guards backwards with a blast of fire. "The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last Airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic Firebending to defeat him. You WILL teach me the advanced set!"  
Iroh considered this. "Very well. But first I must finish my roast duck." He began eating.

"You! I will fight you next." He pointed at Alex.

_Shit, Carson thought._

"What, me? Why me?" Alex looked like he was about to pass out.

"You are a firebender, right? I order you fight me, now." Zuko squinted. "Or will you disgrace yourself to me already?"

Alex restated, "No, just… why me? Now?"

"I wish to test your skills. See what you can really do."

Iroh stopped eating. "Prince Zuko, it may not be ideal to-"

"Why not?" Zuko replied, "It's my ship; I can do what I want!"

Alex replaced his expression of half-fear, half-confusion with an amazingly good poker face as he got up and walked over.

_Well, do or die time, I suppose. He won't really get hurt, though. Zuko isn't gonna _kill_ him. _

Although he could come away much worse than when he came in.

Alex stood there before assuming a strange stance, one that Zuko obviously wasn't expecting. "I suppose I'll give it my all then."

Zuko sneered. "That's why you're fighting me, remember?" Zuko shot a bolt of fire, high speed, and straight at Alex.

_C'mon, it can't be that hard to connect martial arts to firebending, right? Right? Aww, damn. He's probably screwed anyway._

Alex blocked uncertainly, noticing that he was fine, his confidence seemed to grow as Zuko shot more fire at him even as he continued to back up."Fight back!" Zuko yelled.

Alex's own fire shot from his hands. Zuko dodged and leapt to the side, where Alex threw a lower roundhouse kick, which caused Zuko to fall forward, almost. Instead he turned it into a flip, throwing himself forward. They caught each other's arms, and, taking the opportunity, tried to kick each other. Both succeeded, and by kicking each other and the same time they both flew apart. Both boys were crouching on the deck, breathing hard. It was Zuko who got up first. "Well," he began, "It seems I have underestimated you _again_. You're more than a half-decent fighter." Zuko turned to Iroh as Alex got up. "Uncle, now teach the advanced set."

"Very well, Prince Zuko." Iroh said as Alex sat down next to Carson.

"I did… it. Right?" Alex said uncertainly.

_Damn right! Carson thought._

"Yeah," he said "Awesome job, giving his royal angstyness a surprise."

"It takes a lot out of you, ha-ha. Zuko's used to it. I'm not." And with that Alex back gave out and he laid flat out his back.

Carson rolled his eyes.

They all saw the flare. It was kind of hard to miss, considering it fell slowly and had an audible whistling noise. Except Iroh, but he had gone back to sleep.

"Um, that's important, right?" Carson mumbled to Alex.

Zuko gabbed his spyglass and looked through at where the flare had come from.

"The last Airbender," he commented. "Quite agile for his old age. I have found the avatar at long last –Zuko turned his telescope- as well as his hiding place!"

"Yep." Alex whispered back.

Alex knew the shit had gotten real when Zuko order full speed, towards _land_.

Both Alex and Carson were up on deck alone, while Zuko and his troops were preparing to investigate the village.

"And now we watch as Sokka makes a fool out of himself, only to have Aang come in and save everyone and get captured by Zuko!" Alex narrated.

"Can you stop that? Please? Your omniscience over the universe is both irritating, and frightening." Carson replied which was met with a dope "Sure."

They both turned as the ship's bowsprit plunged forward, turning into a stairs leading down, like an overdone Roman ship. Zuko along with half a dozen guards walked down the ramp to meet the tiny spotted Sokka, who was getting up, and he charged Zuko with an adolescent war cry. As he ran up the steps to Zuko, he casually kicked his weapon out of his hand and then in the face, sending him sprawling on the ice. The villagers looked scared as all hell.

_Well, your entire defensive force was just taken out. As in, Sokka._

Zuko walked forward to address the village. "Where are you hiding him?"  
After no immediate response, he grabs an old woman and shows her to the villagers. "He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?" Still no one says anything. He throws her roughly back to the crowd. In anger, Zuko launched a wave of fire over everyone in the village. Everyone ducked in fear.

"I know you're hiding him!" Zuko yelled.

Sokka, being the stubborn idiot he is, got up and charged Zuko with another cry. Zuko turns and dodges Sokka's charges and flips him. Sokka threw his boomerang at Zuko. In surprise, Zuko dodges the boomerang. While he was distracted, a little boy in the crowd throws him a spear.  
Sokka charges Zuko _again_, and this time Zuko doesn't take any chances. He grabs the spear as it is about to hit him, boinks Sokka with it several times, then breaks it in half and drops the pieces on the ground.

Of course the boomerang had to come back now.

In the sky the boomerang reappears. It slams Zuko in the back of the head, knocking his helmet about.

And of course it was Aang who had deliver fun tot the event.  
Aang flew towards the village on a penguin. He flew right under Zuko, hitting his legs out from under him. Zuko lands butt up. The helmet lands on his behind, causing Carson to howl with laughter. Zuko got to his feet and assumed a Firebending stance, and then he and his men quickly surrounded Aang. Aang, of course, uses airbending to blow the men on either side of him backwards. He blasted Zuko as well, but he is really good at holding his ground.  
Aang spoke. "Looking for me?"  
Zuko looked really surprised. "You're the Airbender? You're the Avatar?"

He still looked ready to firebend the living crap out of him, however.  
Zuko continued, "I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!"  
Aang was quick on the reply. "Well, you're just a teenager."

That seemed to piss Zuko off. He began firing fire blast after blast, advancing while Aang backed up while dissipating each blast as it hit by twirling his staff in front of him like a helicopter blade. He seemed to realize the hopelessness of the situation.  
Aang turned to Zuko and said, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" This seemed unexpected to Zuko, but he still nodded, accepting Aang's surrender. Zuko's soldiers confiscated his staff and began leading him back into the ship. Katara, trying to be the hero, called out to Aang, "No, Aang! Don't do this!"  
"Don't worry, Katara, it'll be okay." Aang replied meekly. "Take care of Appa for me until I get back."  
The bowsprit closed up behind Zuko and his soldiers as Carson commented, "Well that went… fine."

Alex sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

Carson was disappointed. He thought his Alex and him were going to see some epic speech delivered to Aang from Zuko, but no. He had to be stuck inside in their small room.

"Hey, I'm going to the bathroom." Carson stood up and went to the door.

"Sure, have fun." Came Alex's nonchalant reply. He was busy reading a Fire Navy manual.

Carson quietly closed the door behind him.

_C'mon, the bathroom has to be around here somewhere…_

A bald kid running down the hall at top speed interrupted his train of thought.

"Oh, hey. You haven't seen my staff around here, have you?" Aang said.

"Um… Zuko took it, so it might be in his quarters. It's up a few floors, I think."

"Wait a second, you don't look very Fire Nation." Aang asked questioningly.

"I'm not."

"Oh. Well it was nice meeting you!" Aang sped away down the hall.

_Wow. That's Aang. The Avatar. Wow. I need some air._

Out on the foredeck, Carson rubbed his head.

_Well now. Damn it, what happens next? This is something _really_ important._

His question was answer by Aang attempting to fly away on his glider from the bridge. Carson turned just as Zuko jumped after him. He grabbed Aang by the foot, sending them both falling to the deck. Zuko didn't seem to notice Carson; instead he was looking past Aang at an object in the distance.

Zuko looked incredulous. "What is that?"

Aang turned with a smile on his face "Appa!"

Zuko took this distraction to his advantage, shooting many fire blasts until Aang backed up and was knocked off the ship.

Katara's cry pierced the air. "Aang! Aang! AANG!"

Aang shot out of the water on a cyclone of water. Everyone looked stupefied. Landing on the deck, Aang bent the water into a huge shockwave that threw Zuko and his minions away.

Katara and Sokka landed Appa on the deck.

Katara looked amazed. "Did you see what he just did?"  
Sokka seemed impressed as well. "Now that was some waterbending!"  
It did seem to take a lot out of him, though. His knees wobbled after the huge energy expenditure. He fell forward, his Avatar State power-up wearing off.

Carson, Katara, and Sokka rushed over to help.  
Katara was the first there. "Aang! Are you okay?"  
Katara knelt and held Aang, with Sokka and I beside her.  
Aang seemed like he was about to pass out. "Hey Katara. Hey Sokka. Thanks for coming. That's… what's your name, again?" Aang pointed at Carson and both Water Tribe teens looked at him. "I'm Carson." came his simple reply.  
Sokka seemed like his usual self. "Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory, Aang."  
Aang turned. "I dropped my staff."  
Happy to be of help, Carson said, "Got it!"  
He ran over to pick up the staff, which was half off the deck. As he picked it up, he was shocked to see that Zuko was holding the other end of it. _Shit!_ "Hey, help me up!" Zuko yelled. _Um, how bout no. See you in two seasons when you become a badass. _He butted Zuko in the head with the staff several times. Zuko let go and began to fall to the water below, but grabbed the anchor chain in time. He hung by one hand. Sokka seemed in a gloating mood. "Ha! Take that, Fire Nation!"  
Unfortunately, their trouble wasn't over. The Fire Nation soldiers that Aang hit with his water blast got up, preparing for combat. Katara picked up a stream of water from the deck and the guards pull back slightly in fear. She tried to whip the guards with the water, but instead freezes the water on the deck, including the water around Sokka's feet in the background.  
Sokka had a _really_ expression on his face. "Katara!" Sokka, being the inventive one, started to chip away at the ice holding his feet with his boomerang while the soldiers moved forward once again. Katara picked up another stream of water and threw it at the soldiers without looking. Surprisingly, the soldiers became frozen in a thin sheet of ice. She turned and made her way over to Appa.  
"Hey, men, hurry up!"  
"I'm just a guy with a boomerang; I didn't ask for all this flying and magic." Sokka said to himself.  
"Wait!" Carson realized. "My brother is still here!"

Katara and Aang were already on Appa, with Sokka running over, boomerang in hand. "We don't have time. It's either us, or the Fire Nation." Sokka replied.

_He's right, I did just boink the Fire Prince off the ship._

"Come on!" Aang yelled. It seemed Carson didn't have time to think.

_I'm sorry, Alex._

He hurriedly climbed onto Appa.  
Sokka was ready to go "Yip yip! Yip yip!" he exclaimed.  
Appa rumbled and took off, gaining altitude quickly.

Carson turned back to the ship to see a massive bolt of fire incoming. Katara and Sokka looked behind them in horror at the approaching fireball. Aang jumped to the back of the saddle and, using his staff like a baseball bat, airbent a gale that deflected the fireball away from Appa and into the ice cliff nearby. The fireball exploded, sending a huge amount of ice from the cliff wall falling onto Zuko's ship.

"Guys, can't we go back and get my brother?" Carson looked like he was going to die.

Then he rounded on him. "Wait, what WERE you doing on a Fire Nation ship?"

The question hung in the air for a few seconds before Carson replied.

"My brother and I were captured. Aang inadvertently allowed me to escape."

Sokka looked downcast. "We can't go back. It's too dangerous. I'm sorry, Carson."

Then Katara and Sokka questioned Aang. Katara seemed the most interested, considering she was the waterbender. "How did you do that? With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen."  
Aang seemed unsure. "I don't know. I just sort of... did it."  
"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?"  
"Because... I never wanted to be."  
Katara continued. "But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war."  
Aang's expression became sadder. "And how am I going to do that?"  
Carson piped up with an answer. "You need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?"  
"That's what the monks told me." Aang replied.  
Katara seemed excited. "Well, if we go to the North Pole you can master waterbending."  
Aang got excited as well. "We can learn it together!"  
"And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way." Katara smirked.  
Sokka sighed. "I'd like that. I'd really like that."

"And Carson," Katara continued "I'm sure we'll get your brother back."

_Yeah… Hopefully. _He only met Katara with a smile.  
Katara seemed in agreement. "Then we're in this together."  
Aang produced a scroll. "All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to" opening the scroll as he spoke and pointing to various locations, "Here, here, and here."  
"What's there?" Katara asked.  
Aang gestured frantically. "Here we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then way over here we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. Then back over here we'll ride the hog-monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!"

Everyone laughed. Even Carson cracked a smile.

Zuko, Iroh, and Alex were in the war room. Zuko paced back and forth.

"Your brother escaped, along with the Avatar."

"WHAT?!" Alex didn't know what to think.

_Calm down. Any number of things could have happened. Shit. Calm down. He's probably safer with Aang than here on Zuko's ship, anyway._

He pressed his lips into a straight line and stared at the floor.

"Doesn't this show why the Avatar must be captured?" Zuko continued.

_No, of course not, but just go along with it. _

Alex looked up and locked eyes with Zuko. "Yes. Yes I do."

Iroh interrupted. "Good news for the Fire Lord. The nation's greatest threat is just a little kid."  
Zuko still seemed pissed. "That kid, Uncle, just destroyed half my ship! I won't underestimate him again. Alex, get out there and help melt all the ice covering the deck. Now!"

Alex rushed out of the room, but not before turning around and saluting. "Yes, Prince Zuko. Thank you, Prince Zuko."

After he left, Iroh spoke to his nephew. "You should trust that kid more. He is more like yourself than you think. And he plays Pai Sho very well!"

"I don't need your advice now, Uncle!"

**A/N: Dun dun dun. Plot! Things happen! Once again, I hope to get out the next chapter as soon as possible!**


End file.
